Window-cleaner



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. BROMBAGHER.

WINDOW CLEANER Patented Mar. '15, 1898.-

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

E. BROMBAOHER.

WINDOW CLEANER Patented Mar. 15, 1898.

PATENT OFFICE.

EM IL BROMBAOHER, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

WINDOW-C LEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 600,609, dated March 15, 1898.

- Application filed March 29, 1897. i

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL BROMBACHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in' Window-Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of cleaning appliances which are employed for removing moisture or water of condensation from window-panes, such as store-windows and the front windows of street-car vestibules and locomotive-cabs, so as to afford a clear view through the pane.

My invention has more particular reference to cleaning devices of this kind which consist of a pair of upright guides arranged at opposite sides of the window-pane, a cross-head sliding on the guides and carrying a wiper or cleaner which moves over the window-pane, and operating devices for reciprocating the wiper-head.

The object of my invention is to so construct and operate the wiper that the same is caused to bear against the window-pane and clean the same in moving it in one direction and to recede out of contact with the pane in moving in the reverse direction, so as to more thoroughly clean the pane and prevent soiling or streaking of the same, which is liable to occur when the wiper is allowed to rub against the pane during its return stroke as well as its forward stroke.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of the front end of a street-car provided with my improved window cleaner. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary interior view thereof, on an enlarged scale,looking toward the front end of the car. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section in line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of the spring-drums for returning the wiper. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section in line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, in line 6 6, Fig. 1, the operating-cords of the wiper-head being omitted. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section in line 7 7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal sec- Seria1No.6Z9,646. (No model.)

to said wall, the brackets being preferably provided with sockets, as shown, in which the ends of the guides are confined.

O is the wiper, rubber, or cleaner, which extends across the outer side of the window and is adapted to run in contact with the pane for wiping from the same any deposited moisture or water of condensation. This wiper is carried by a vertically-reciprocating crosshead D, guided on the rods B by means of sleeves or slides E, which surround the rods.

The cross-head D is provided with jaws d, between which the wiper is secured by transverse screws d, as shown in the drawings; but the wiper may be secured to the crosshead by any other suitable means, if desired. The wiper may consist of a strip of rubber .or felt or of a suitable cleaning-pad.

The wiper-head is arranged to move toward and from the window-pane, so that it may be moved out of contact with the pane during its reverse or return stroke, and thus render the same operative only in one direction. In the construction shown in the drawings the wiper-head is pivoted to its supporting slides or carriers E by journals or trunnions f, ar-

ranged at the inner edge thereof and projecting laterally into horizontal sockets or bearings f,arranged on the inner side of the slides, as most clearly shown in Fig. 6, whereby the wiper is permitted to swing toward and from the window-pane.

g g represent a pair of operating cords or chains whereby the Wiper is drawn downwardly over the window-pane for cleaning the same. These cords are attached at their upper ends to actuating-arms f extending forwardly from the portions of the journals f arranged outside of their bearings,.as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and 7. The cords thence extend downwardly over upright guide pulleys or rollers h, arranged below the lower end of the window-sash and preferably on the inner side of the guides B, as shown in Fig. 1, and from these guide-pulleys the operating-cords pass inwardly through openings h, formed in the front wall of the car-vestibule, thence around a pair of horizontal guide-pulleys 2', arranged on the inner side of said wall, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and thence inwardly and rearwardly around a pair of adjacent guide-pulleys L, arranged centrally below the windowsash, the meeting ends of the two cords being attached to a handle 2' whereby both cords can be pulled simultaneously with one hand, thus drawing both ends of the wiper-head downward evenly and preventing binding of its slides on the guides B. The arrangement of the rock-arms f on the front side of the pivots of the wiper-head causes the wiper to swing forwardly and bear against the window-pane upon pulling the operating-cords g, as shown by full lines in Fig. 3. The several guide-pulleys h, 11, and t" are mounted on suitable brackets secured to the front wall of the car-vestibule, as shown.

j represent return cords or chains whereby the wiper after reaching the limit of its downward or effective stroke is returned to its initial position. These return-cords are con nected with the wiper-head at a point above its pivots f, preferably by means of horizontal pins is, projecting laterally from the ends of the wiper-head, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6. From the wiper-head the returncords extend upwardly around upright guidepulleys Z, arranged on the outer side of the car-vestibule above the window-sash and preferably on the inner sides of the guides B, thence rearwardly through openings Z,formed in the front wall of the vestibule, as shown in Fig. 3, and thence to upright spring-drums M, which are arranged on the inner side of said front wall and upon which the cords are wound, whereby the drums tend constantly to wind the cords thereon, pulling the wiper upwardly and automatically returning it to its upper position when released. These spring-drums may be of any ordinary or suitable construction. ings are journaled horizontally in a fixed casing M, having two compartments, one of which contains the drum and the other a coiled spring M which is secured at its inner end to the drum-shaft and connected at its outer end to the casing by a pin m, as shown in Fig. 5.

In the normal position of the parts the wiper is located at the upper end of the window and is held there by the spring-drums and the return-cords j. When it is desired to clean the window, the operating-handle 2' is simply pulled toward the operator or motorman standing inside the car-vestibule, where- 'Ihose shown in the draw-' by the wiper is'drawn down over the windowpane, the same being caused to bear against the pane by the forwardly-proj ectin g arrangement of the rock-arms f ashereinbefore described. After drawing the wiper to the bottom of the pane the operating-cords are allowed to slacken,whereupon the spring-drums M, which have been placed under tension by the downward movement of the wiper, automatically draw the wiper upward to its former position. As the return-cords are-attached to the wiper-head at a point above its pivots, the first effect of the upward pull of the re turn-cords is to swing the wiper-head backwardly or away from the window-pane until the head reaches a position about parallel with a straight line drawn from the rear side of one of the upper guide-pulleys Z to the pivot f on the same side of the wiper-head, this position of the head being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. As soon as the wiperhead swings clear of the window-pane the continued upward pull of the return-cords causes the wiper to be drawn in this position to the upper extremity of'its movement, thereby holding the same out of contact with the window-pane during .its entire return stroke and preventing smutting or streaking-of the pane by the moisture taken up by the wiper in its downward or efiective stroke.

If desired, weights M may be substituted for the spring-drums M for returning the wiper, as shown in Fig. 8, in which case the weights are preferably guided and inclosed in tubular casings M and the return-cords j are connected with these weights, additional guide-pulleys Z being arranged at the open upper ends of these casings opposite the guidepulleys Z.

While I have herein shown and described means for moving the wiper-head in one direction by hand and in the other by springpower, the same may obviously be operated in both directions by hand.

My improved cleaner is applicable to the show or display windows of stores as well as the windows of street and railway cars and locomotive-cabs and to other structures where it is desirable to have at all times an unobscured view.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a pair of guides arranged adjacent to the window, reciprocating slides or carriers moving on said guides, a Wiper or cleaner movably mounted on said slides and capable of receding from the window, means for holding said wiper against the window during its forward stroke, and means for holding the same away from the window during its return stroke, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a pair of guides arranged adjacent to the window, reciprocating slides or carriers moving on said guides, a wiper-head provided at its ends with pivots j ournaled in said slides and with an actuatingarm projecting forwardly beyond its pivots, therewith during its return stroke, substanan operating cord or chain connected with tially as set forth.

said actuating-arm, anda return cord or chain Witness my hand this 20th day of March, extending in the opposite direction from said 1897.

5 operating-cord and connected with the wiper- I .EMIL BROMBACHER.

head on the front side of its-pivots, whereby Witnesses: v the return-cord swings the wiper away from CARL F. GEYER,

the window and holds the same out of contact KATHRYN ELMORE. 

